For the past week here in Northeast Florida, we’ve had nothing but steady rain and down pours. Yesterday was the first day we could venture out and stay dry. We are not in the hurricane zone in the panhandle region, and I don’t think our soggy weather pattern is even related to that storm, now […]
About Lisa Begin-Kruysman
100 Years, Honored With Love
My mother passed in February 2024. This Monday, October 5th would’ve marked her 100th birthday. Oh how I wish we could be celebrating that milestone and not just in spirit. My dad passed 11 months prior to her’s and I’m always grateful that she didn’t have to be a widow for too long. He […]
Rolling on the River
This Monday, September 28th, would’ve been our 30th Wedding Anniversary. What a beautiful day it was spent with our guests on the River Queen on the Manasquan River in New Jersey. Today, while doing some cleaning out, I came upon a framed wedding photo in the drawer of a piece of furniture I am […]
A “Weekness” for Dogs
September brings a month of mixed-emotions for me. This week for instance, I was reminded that five years ago, Rich and I were headed from Georgia to a family wedding in Virginia then on to New Jersey to help clean out our family home in New Jersey. We also made a trip to the Jersey […]
My “Old Florida” Haven
Last Tuesday brought the third anniversary of the closing on the purchase of my log home in rural Florida. So much has changed since I landed in this place that a friend once described as being in the middle of the middle of nowhere. Some days it does seem that way, but there is something […]
The Art of Good Memories
Seems like I was just writing about the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays and now here we are at the unofficial end of the Summer of 2026 and Labor Day. Weekends, especially holiday weekends, can be hard on the widowed no matter the point in time of our loss. Once a time of […]
Happy Dog Daze
I’ve shared so many times before about the incredible role that dogs play in grief recovery, especially for the widowed population. For several years I’ve written and blogged about an event called National Dog Week, observed each September, since 1928, and many other well-deserved observances that honor all things dog. Wednesday, canines were honored […]
Fetching Hope
It was another extremely hot week here in Northeast Florida with heat indexes up to 114 “feels like” degrees. And of course the humidity makes it almost pointless to shower if you plan to spend any time outdoors, even early in the morning. You do get used to it, and to move more slowly as […]
Navigating Cones of Uncertainty
It’s been a long week filled with many dedicated hours preparing the canal house for its new occupants. Hard to believe that I closed on this property two years ago this October. I couldn’t say it then, but that house needed extreme TLC. Basically, it was a hot mess, but I didn’t want to hurt […]
Navigating Unpaved Roads
The other day, an archived Facebook post, and accompanying photo, caught me by surprise. It was the first photo I’d taken of the log home I’ve since come to call home for the past three years. August 2nd, 2023. It was the day I’d actually toured the home in person after staring at it […]
“Small” Strong Steps Forward
Last Tuesday I attended a County Commissioner’s meeting here in Putnam County, Florida. I showed up to support the important issue of animal code enforcement which is truly needed here in this rural county. Recently, a young woman was rescued during a dog attack and there have been fatalities in this county as well as […]
The Tree of Life Grows On
At 5:30am Thursday, I received a text from my brother John (I was already up). He, his wife and son were in the Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, GA, waiting to board a plane for California. They were travelling to attend the Services for Oliver Tree, who is the son or our cousin Christine and her […]